West Dunbartonshire is considering introducing a Visitor Levy.
Councils in Scotland have new powers to introduce a visitor levy in their local area. These powers come from new laws in the Visitor Levy (Scotland) Act 2024. If West Dunbartonshire introduced such a levy, the money raised must be used to develop, support, and sustain facilities and services which are substantially used by visitors for leisure and business purposes.
We want to hear your views to help us shape our draft Visitor Levy scheme and Stage 2 of the Consultation.
(The survey should take around 5-10 minutes to complete.)
Many places around the world already have visitor levies. These include Netherlands, France, Italy, Spain, United States, Japan and United Arab Emirates. If West Dunbartonshire introduces a levy, the money raised would be used specifically for the benefit of the visitor economy; this could include making local facilities and services better, supporting local heritage & culture, improving infrastructure and potentially funding tourism events.
The Scotland's visitor levy legislation (Visitor Levy (Scotland) Act 2024), allows local authorities to introduce a charge on overnight stays in hotels and other short-term accommodations to raise funds to support and sustain local services and infrastructure for the visitor economy and residents. Many elements of the visitor levy are set in law and councils cannot change them. These include the types of accommodation covered, the application of the visitor levy as a percentage of accommodation charges per person per night, (rather than a flat pre-defined charge), and that councils are legally required to consult extensively with local communities, businesses, and stakeholders before implementing the levy. While councils can decide if they will introduce the visitor levy and on the percentage rate levied, they must reinvest funds raised to help manage the impact of tourism and enhance visitor experiences. They are also statutorily required to report annually on how this has been done.
The results of this Stage 1 Consultation will help shape Stage 2 of the Consultation and, ultimately, any draft West Dunbartonshire Visitor Levy Scheme .
You (residents, businesses and visitors) will have another opportunity to give your views on the draft scheme when we run the formal Stage 2, 12-week Consultation which is likely to be summer/autumn 2025.
This Stage 1 survey will close on Friday 28 February 2025 at 5pm.